Townsend in Tower Hamlets

Went to the Whitechapel Gallery in the pouring rain yesterday. I wondered whether it had a ‘cafe’ What a lovely surprise; such High quality soup, focaccia and rhubarb and custard. A unique finding Lovely setting

A gem of a restaurant. Really well cooked food. A lovely atmosphere and attentive and pleasant staff. And all at a reasonable price. We’ll most certainly be back the next time we are in London.

Utterly disappointed. Used to be one of my favourite restaurants in London but the standards have seriously dropped. The food was so poor we had to return two dishes.

Original and creative set menu at reasonable prices. This was my second visit and it did not disappoint. Townsend is a little known gem inside the Whitechapel Gallery. Everything we had on the four course set menu was delicious and the service was pleasant and welcoming. Orange wine was an unusual but welcome addition to the wine list.

The set menu was promising however the delivery wasn’t there. Poor mix of tastes and textures. Sloppy presentation of the main dish and desert plates. The staff was friendly which is why I’m rating this dinner 3 and not 1.

Had the fixed dinner menu with my wife. The pollock main was ok. The appetizers were pedestrian and lacked any form of flavour and seasoning. The lack of flavour was not a subtle thing - it could have been supermarket food. The dessert confirmed the entire lack of culinary enthusiasm with dishes that would have been overshadowed by any supermarket fridge pudding. It’s a shame but I think the ratings have generous someone’s head …

Nous avions réservé notre table pour un samedi soir, début juillet. Accueil bienveillant et carte innovante pour des plats très réussis. Séduits par l'ambiance calme et chaleureuse de ce restaurant au décor très sobre, nous avons passé un très agréable moment. Assurément une adresse à recommander.

Easy to book, courtesy call the day before, pleasant & attentive service, nice environment . Oh, and the food was awesome! I had fried Wenslidale to stsrt, and we both had the Pea Tart for main & shred a chocolate tart to finish (very rich, but still yummy) The pea tart was particularly good, and I'm not even vegetarian...mind you seeing the DAMIEN HIRST Natural History exhibition earlier in the day probably assisted with that!

An excellent supper. Can highly recommend the Red Leicester croquettes (deliciously savoury) followed by the crab tart with tarragon mayo. The new potatoes roasted with rosemary and garlic, and the wonderfully fresh green salad were a perfect accompaniment. Our first visit to Townsend and already a firm favourite.

Can hardly believe how well we ate (thank you Chef Chris), how friendly the service was (Maria), how pleasant the room was and how reasonably priced it all was. I will make sure to literally go out of my way to dine there again even if I'm not going to the Whitechapel gallery to see an exhibit as I was today. The brocoli with almond cream and the fish cake were particularly good. As for the 66% chocolate tart it was so delicious I bought an extra slice to take home.

We visited this restaurant in November 2020 between lockdowns. It was truly excellent: innovative food but not so fussy that you think the chef is more interested in experimenting than feeding people. We ate there twice on our short stay then. We decided to go back on another short stay. We worried that Covid may have had an impact. We needn't have done. The food was excellent again, well up to what had attracted us the first time. The service was also really good, attentive enough without being intrusive. We ordered a wine which we thought would go, but were warned that as a natural wine it might not be to our tastes. Very true and the alternative suggested was very good. Will definitely go back again if we are staying nearby in future. They told us they had just celebrated their second anniversary: I hope they have a few more that keep up to this standard.

Last night, a companion took me to Townsend as a last minute affair. We weren't sure what to expect, but were greeted by friendly wait staff. The restaurant itself is quite small, leading to quite an inviting and intimate atmosphere. We chose to dine from the set menu with the drinks pairings and were blown away by the variety of fresh flavours across the courses, as well as the well selected drinks (even including a cider!). I will certainly be returning to try more of the menu.

Went here for a quick visit and received great service and fantastic recommendations from Cynthia and Maria! Very easy to deal with, gorgeous and incredibly lovely. We just came for a quick visit and ended up having a great chat and left with some wonderful wine - a testament with how friendly they were.

Went for lunch after seeing an exhibition at the gallery. Absolutely delicious seasonal food. I had the focaccia with whipped butter, pollock (cooked perfectly) with winter vegetables followed by a pear tart for dessert - all of it was really really tasty. The two waitresses who served us were so friendly and accommodating. Will definitely go back!

A chic and elegant vibe. Situated inside of Whitechapel gallery, the perfect place to enjoy a quiet brunch. The energy of the gallery somehow shields the noise and bustle of the busy high street. Presentation is a focus and there are healthy and less healthy options available.

Just wonderful, from service to flavour, the menu was already impressive and nothing disappointed. Great friendly staff and a lovely atmosphere. Highly recommend the Hake.

We had the "cook at home" vegetarian and vegan set menus delivered by carrier as we are outside London. Unfortunately some of the sauces did not survive the next day delivery journey, however after an email this was quickly rectified by Townsend re-sending the sauces...

Question: If you had ordered a delivery of a Burns Night Supper from a high end restaurant, costing £40 (for 2 persons) would you expect the restaurant to have made their own haggis? Yes or no ? ? Well, okay, I’m a yes, and so,...

Sadly Townsend, like all restaurants, has had to close for the duration of Lockdown Mk 3... Fortunately, they’ve had the great idea of delivering their delicious food as “ready to finish” meals to homes across London and the rest of the country. 10 days ago...

I ordered the Town-Send Vegetarian Box as seen on The Hot Dinners web site. It was advertised as a Hassle Free experience while you sipped wine!!! What arrived was a carrier bag with raw unwashed, unprepared vegetables, milk and breadcrumbs for the bread sauce, a...

We had the "cook at home" vegetarian Christmas lunch, delivered by the restaurant with clear instructions and lovely fresh ingredients. Totally delicious. Thanks so much! When this awful time is over, we can't wait to be able to visit properly.

Couldn't really fault anything about this small intimate friendly restaurant. Relaxing atmosphere in which to enjoy some really tasty imaginative, unfussy food. An absolute delight to finish off our week in London. Back to Manchester tomorrow!!! Enjoy while you can.

We had a great 3 course meal with Townsend that celebrated the best of British ingredients combined with panache and flair to create wonderfully varied dishes. We couldn’t fault each course and were blown away by the big, bold flavours. Highly recommended.

Had a lovely meal at Townsend on Thursday night. Very friendly staff, interesting variety on menu, fresh local ingredients, wine list caters for all price ranges. What is not to like? Will come again.

I was really keen to try this new restaurant at Whitechapel Art Gallery which is conveniently situated near my office. I booked for the first ever lunch service and was a little thrilled to be served the first plate out of the kitchen. The Townsend...

It retains the rather functional wooden furniture from its former life as Whitechapel Canteen, comprisng two spaces either side of the main entrance to Whitechapel Gallery. to the right a square dining room with windows onto the street, to the left something of a cubby-hole...